


What a Friend Will Do

by DebbieF



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-13
Updated: 2013-07-13
Packaged: 2017-12-19 08:46:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/881797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DebbieF/pseuds/DebbieF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Takes place around season 10.<br/>SG-2 and General Jack O'Neill are held captive and Daniel's their only<br/>chance of rescue.<br/>downsized Daniel of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What a Friend Will Do

*Cheyenne Mountain Complex*  
  
Concentrating on his translation, Daniel didn't hear the knock on his office  
door; a gentle touch on his shoulder made the archaeologist jerk in his chair.  
Pushing his glasses back up his nose, he stared at his visitor. "Oh, hey, Sam."  
Seeing her solemn expression, he knew something was wrong. "SG-2 and Jack?"  
  
"General Landry just received a report that they're being held captive."  
  
"For what? I understood that they were willing to negotiate a trade for their  
naquadria."  
  
"Elder Layton said that Sa'han was upset with General O'Neill's attitude and had  
them placed in their version of a jail." She pulled up a chair and sat down.  
"From what I understand, some of General O'Neill's remarks were quite scathing."  
  
"Of course they were," Daniel murmured, took off his glasses and then threw them  
down on his desk; pinching the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes. "Leave it  
to Jack to _open mouth and insert foot_... it's what he's best at."  
  
"I'd laugh if it weren't so serious, Daniel. We need that naquadria and I'm sure  
we can clear up this misunderstanding." Sam's glance quickly slid away from  
Daniel's.  
  
"Okay, Sam, spit it out."  
  
"You know as well as I do that the Terian's ruling body is made up of highly  
intelligent children... children that will only listen to another..."  
  
"Child," Daniel finished for her. "Where's that leave us, Sam?"  
  
"How willing would you be to become a child again?" Seeing Daniel's eyes widen  
at her question, she quickly added, "only for a short time."  
  
"You're joking... right?" He waited for the punch line.  
  
"I wish I were, Daniel." Sam looked down at the ground that had suddenly become  
so interesting.  
  
"Tell me how you're going to accomplish such a thing." As far as the young man  
knew, there was no type of technology at their disposal that could make such a  
physical change.  
  
"Not me, per se, but the Nox have been contacted and Lya has agreed to perform  
the ritual for us."  
  
"How in the world did you guys know they could do something like that?"  
  
"General Landry first contacted the Tok'ra, who in turn mentioned that the Nox  
had the capability to turn adults into children but only for a short duration."  
  
"How short?" Daniel didn't think he could maintain his sanity for long as a  
child.  
  
"About a month, according to Lya."  
  
Wrapping a hand around the back of his neck, the linguist looked at Sam. "I  
guess a month out of my life wouldn't be too bad. Gee, the things I do for a  
friend," Daniel snorted gently.  
  
"You mean you'll do it, Daniel?"  
  
"Do I have a choice here, Sam... I mean, really?"  
  
"You're our premiere diplomat and our best chance for their release."  
  
"The Terian's are, for the most part, a peaceful people, Sam. It's not like  
they're going to execute SG-2 and Jack."  
  
"True but we don't know how long Sa'han's snit will last either." Sam stood up  
and looked down at her friend. "And without knowing what set him off, we don't  
know how long he'd keep them incarcerated."  
  
"Did you mention this to the rest of our team?"  
  
"Not exactly."  
  
"Then don't! All they'll do is try to talk me out of this." Looking at Sam's  
satisfied expression, he asked, "will my transformation hurt?"  
  
"Apparently the procedure is painless, Daniel."  
  
"So, now all that leaves is _when_ and _where_." He could imagine how he'd write  
this up in his journal later.  
  
"Would tomorrow be too soon for you to get prepared, Daniel?"  
  
"A month... right?"  
  
"More or less," Sam shrugged and crossed her fingers.  
  
"Jack is so going to owe me for this!"  
  
Chuckling, Sam left to inform the general of Daniel's decision.  
  
++++  
  
*Cheyenne Mountain...next day*  
  
"Hey, Sunshine, hold up." Mitchell hailed and ran to catch up to his teammate.  
"Sam told the rest of us that you're going to save SG-2's and General O'Neill's  
collective butts."  
  
"Going to try," was Daniel's clipped response.  
  
"You don't sound too happy about the prospect, Jackson."  
  
"It's like a tooth extraction. The more you dwell on it, the worse it will be."  
  
"Sounds like you expect to run into trouble. Would you like some company?"  
  
"Thanks for the offer, Mitchell, but General Landry's got it covered."  
  
"Okay... but someone's gotta keep Teal'c from following you."  
  
"Between you and Vala, I'm sure you can keep that from happening."  
  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jackson," Mitchell remarked dryly.  
  
"Anytime."  
  
++++  
  
*The Nox Home World*  
  
Bowing his head, Daniel greeted Lya of the Nox.  
  
"Thank you for doing this."  
  
"It is our pleasure, Daniel. We understand the problem you face and are more  
than willing to lend a hand."  
  
"Er, is this not going against your non-interference policies, Lya?"  
  
"Not in the least, Daniel. We are just changing your form so that you can  
negotiate for the release of your friends."  
  
"I remember Sam mentioning to me once that she told you it was a fine line you  
were treading on... seems to me that line's beginning to blur."  
  
Lya just smiled in that gentle way she had.  
  
"Okay then. Guess I'm ready as I ever will be. Where do you need me to be?"  
  
"Come inside our dwelling." Lya walked towards a small hut; once inside, she  
told Daniel to lie down on the lone bed in the room. Shortly, other Nox joined  
them, until there were a total of six standing in a circle around the bed.  
  
"Close your eyes, Daniel... this will not take very long." Lya kindly smiled at  
the young man she held dear to her heart.  
  
"That's what they all say," he quipped. But he did what she asked of him; Daniel  
could hear low humming come from the other Nox, as a warmth spread throughout  
his limbs. His body began to feel lighter, almost as if he were floating. He  
then began to feel extremely sleepy and drifted off.  
  
Bending her body slightly over the small form lying in the bed, Lya lightly  
touched his head. "It is over, Daniel."  
  
Slowly opening his eyes, Daniel sat up and started to examine the changes in his  
body. It was truly unbelievable and Jack would have been utterly against him  
following through with this but when did he ever listen to Jack in the first  
place? Observing Lya's expectant face, he cocked his head. "A month... right?"  
  
Smiling coyly, Lya nodded her head. "Yes, approximately a month according to  
your earth's calendar, Daniel."  
  
Once again, Daniel muttered to himself about the lengths he was willing to go to  
for a friend.  
  
++++  
  
*P9R-748 - Terian's Home World*  
  
The Stargate came to life and a small figure stepped through the portal, trailed  
by an honor guard of Tok'ra.  
  
Waiting to greet him were Elder Layton and Sa'han; both the older man and  
youngster bowed before him.  
  
Walking up to them, Daniel returned the gesture. "I am Daniel Jackson, the  
representative from earth here to negotiate the release of SG-2 and General  
O'Neill."  
  
"Follow us, Daniel," Sa'han ordered and led the way, followed closely by Elder  
Layton.  
  
Doing his best not to trip over the small robe he had been given by the Nox,  
Daniel trodded carefully behind them.  
  
++++  
  
*Sa'han's Home*  
  
"Your General O'Neill is quite obnoxious," Sa'han remarked in a disgusted voice  
to Daniel.  
  
"Jack can take some getting used too." Daniel figured he had to defend his  
friend up to a point.  
  
"He took offense that he had to deal with a child; O'Neill should have seen it  
from my point of view as well," Sa'han stated firmly.  
  
"And that would be..."  
  
"You need ask, Daniel?"  
  
"Apparently." Daniel held back from letting loose a sarcastic comment at this  
juncture, considering their state of affairs for the moment.  
  
"I took offense having to deal with an adult... a foolish one at that."  
  
"Sa'han, you lead your people well. We apologize for any slight given by General  
O'Neill and SG-2."  
  
"Let me make it clear that I have no problem with your SG-2, Daniel."  
  
"Then why hold them?"  
  
"Guilt by association," Sa'han retorted.  
  
"Of course," Daniel responded wryly, "still, I would like to make amends. May we  
begin the negotiations again with just yourself and me?"  
  
Sa'han made a big production of thinking about it. "Do you promise to take  
General O'Neill back with you as soon as possible?"  
  
"Can't wait to get rid of him, can you?" Daniel smirked, "I know the feeling  
well."  
  
Smiling slyly back, Sa'han bowed his head. "You and I will get along nicely, I  
think."  
  
"I think as well," Daniel agreed.  
  
++++  
  
*Terian's Jailhouse*  
  
Guards came to release the prisoners; unlocking the door they motioned for SG-2  
and General O'Neill to follow them.  
  
Grumbling that children should be seen and not heard, General O'Neill walked out  
into the sunlight to stop dead in his tracks, when he was greeting by two little  
boys; it was the sight of the blond, shaggy haired munchkin that grabbed his  
attention first.  
  
Something was damn familiar about that kid but Jack couldn't put his finger on  
it. "The gang's all hear I see," he quipped and glanced back at Lou Ferretti;  
neither man knew what was going on.  
  
Stepping forward, Sa'han scowled at the older man. "General O'Neill, you and  
your men are free to go," he announced smugly. At once, the boy turned his back  
on him and walked away.  
  
"Hey, _Sammy_!" General O'Neill shouted, "that's it? We can go home... just like  
that?" he snapped his fingers.  
  
Whirling around, Sa'han pointed to the silent figure beside him. "You may thank  
this one for your quick release, along with our agreement to give you all the  
naquadria you need." Facing the other child, Sa'han added, "I honestly don't  
know how you put up with that man, Daniel." The leader of the Terian's then  
flounced away, leaving them on their own.  
  
Upon hearing Sa'han address the other youngster as _Daniel_ , made Jack think he  
was losing what little was left of his mind. But the more he observed the, still  
silent boy, the more he felt his first gut reaction was correct.  
  
Worried brown eyes stared into furious ocean blue ones.  
  
"Daniel?"  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"New look?"  
  
"I was tired of the old one, Jack." Daniel glared at him.  
  
"Who's your tailor?"  
  
"Lya."  
  
"Ah! That explains it then... I recognize the Nox's style."  
  
Lou sauntered over and looked Daniel up and down. "You've changed."  
  
"I think we've established that, Lou," was Daniel's curt response. Walking  
closer to Jack, the small child looked way up. "General Landry is _NEVER_ going  
to send you off world again!"  
  
"Sa'han's a little eight year old boy... who negotiates with an eight year old,  
forcryinoutloud?" Jack felt indignant that he should be taken to task over what  
happened.  
  
"Not you that's for sure, Jack," Daniel snapped. "Because of your lack of  
diplomatic skills, I had to be turned into a little kid to get you out of this  
mess you created for yourself and SG-2."  
  
"Everything was going along fine, until I hurt _Sammy's_ delicate feelings,"  
Jack commented sarcastically. "I'm sure, eventually, we would have straightened  
everything out and you wouldn't have had to resort to becoming _Dennis the_  
 _Menace_."  
  
"No sense beating a dead horse, Jack," Lou pointed out, as worry filled him.  
"Daniel, please tell me your new size isn't permanent."  
  
"Lya explained that in about a month I'll return to normal."  
  
"What are you going to do in the meantime?" Lou knew that his friend wouldn't be  
allowed to live on his own now that he was a kid again; he hoped that didn't  
mean Daniel would be stuck on base for a whole month... that would suck.  
  
The Cheshire cat would have been envious of the smile that spread over Daniel's  
face, as he looked at his best friend. "Stay with Jack, of course." The  
youngster saw surprise reflected in Lou's eyes.  
  
"I guess I don't have a say in the matter, huh?" Jack asked but knew the answer  
already.  
  
"Trust me, Jack... you'll never know I'm there." Daniel winked and grinned  
engagingly at his older friend.  
  
"Something tells me that life with our very young Doctor Jackson is just the  
thing you need, now that you're in your dotage, Jack." Lou's eyes twinkled in  
delight.  
  
"Can it, Ferretti!" Jack shot back, clearly irritated at this turn of events,  
even if he did feel rather guilty about what Daniel had gone through for him.  
  
"Well, Jack, if you don't want to take me in I'm sure there'll be a lot of  
takers at the SGC."  
  
"The kid's right," Lou agreed and smothered a grin behind his hand at the  
disturbed look that crossed Jack's face.  
  
Jack then began to feel like a heel. Daniel got shrunk because of him, so the  
least he could do was offer his home to his best friend. "Daniel, you can stay  
with me."  
  
"Never doubted it for a second," the boy announced with glee. Skipping away,  
Daniel shouted back, "I'm going to give you hell!"  
  
"Hey! What happened to - _me not knowing you're in the house_?"  
  
"In your dreams, O'Neill!"  
  
The little archaeologist's laughter rang in Jack's ears all the way back to the  
Stargate.  
  
The End


End file.
